Heat exchangers of a tube and fin construction, having an array of flat tubes extending between spaced apart headers with fins arranged between adjacent ones of the tubes, are known in the art. The tubes, fins, and headers are often fabricated from a brazeable metal such as aluminum and joined together in a brazing process.
In some well-known heat exchangers of this type, for example radiators commonly used in vehicular applications, a tank is created at each header by joining a formed component (for example, an injection-molded plastic part) to the header, thereby creating a fluid volume at each end of the array of flat tubes to distribute a fluid to be heated or cooled to one end of each tube and to receive that fluid at the opposing end of the tube. Such a formed component is typically joined to the header after brazing, for example by crimping a periphery of the header to the formed component along with an gasket seal. One advantage of such a construction is that a variety of features, including fluid inlet and/or outlet ports and mounting features, can be integrated directly into the formed component at little or no additional cost. However, these cost savings can be more than offset by the additional cost and complexity associated with the secondary joining operation after brazing.
In some other well-known heat exchangers of this type, for example condensers commonly used in vehicle applications, the header is of a cylindrical shape and includes the aforementioned tank, so that such secondary joining operations can be avoided. However, the benefits of directly integrated fluid ports and mounting features can also be lost thereby, or might require additional parts that need to be joined to the heat exchanger either during or after brazing. This can also further increase the cost and complexity associated with manufacturing the heat exchanger.